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my friend got this problem for the last month.

He has to reset his gmail(google account) password everyday. sometimes twice a day..

If he logs in with password 'X' in the morning, evening the password has changed, and he has to reset it again to 'Y'

same happens to password 'Y' ....

Why is this hapenning??

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Is he being prompted by Google to pick a new password or solve a captcha? Or is he getting some email with instructions? Or something else? – Michael Haren Nov 1 at 19:48
is it a computer related question ? – joe Nov 1 at 19:48
Unless you've managed to use gmail without a computer, yes it is. – Phoshi Nov 3 at 12:57

2 Answers

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Sounds like someone else has access to his e-mail account that google sends password reset e-mails to. Or, this "someone else" knows the answers to to all of his security questions.

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Well, you can change that after you've got your pass. And then reset it again. Or do I remember wrong ? – ldigas Nov 1 at 19:54
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Or perhaps someone has managed to put a keylogger on his computer and just gets his password each time he changes it. – Zoredache Nov 1 at 20:36
If a keylogger, he can paste in a new password next time. No typing means no logging. (I think.) – outsideblasts Nov 1 at 21:04
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Don't underestimate keyloggers, they capture data entered into fields in any way; copy paste, on screen keyboards, etc. Attempt a very thorough clean-up of the system if keylogger is suspected. – Nick Josevski Nov 1 at 21:15
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To detect the keylogger problem, try changing the password from another (possibly safer) computer, if you're on Windows, try Linux or a Mac. Then don't login to the account using the "unsafe" computer. If the problem persists we can conclude the problem is not tied to a specific machine and it's probably not a keylogger on that system.

Another option could be that the "reset your password" emails are forwarded to another account which someone else can read.

  1. Check for any filters with forwards and delete them
  2. Remove any forwards (there is one forward option in Gmail without filter).
  3. Change the passwords (again on a safe computer) for the alternate email account.

Gmail logs from which ip-address your Gmail is visited (look at the footer). "Last account activity: 17 minutes ago on this computer. Details" check that for unknown ip-addresses.

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To prevent a flame war: I'm not saying Windows is more unsafe than Mac/Linux. – Niels Bom Nov 3 at 11:36
...then, of course, one could also not mention switching operating system while all you want is to switch computers... ;-) – Arjan van Bentem Nov 3 at 12:19

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